Msbatt,
My grandmother called it ribbon grass...I'm not sure if thats its name but I have it in mostly shade and it does fine. I see it here in total sun as well and seems to do fine as well. It is invasive so if you dont want it all over I recommend that you put metal around it to confine it. Hope that helps
martha

When I Google "ribbon grass", I get Phalaris arundinacea, and the pics don't match what I got at the swap. However, the pics of Arundo donax do. It also seems to be invasive, so I think I'll plant it where it can go where it wants. (*grin*)

Msbatt:
Yes, please be sure to put Arundo donax where it can "do it's thing". It is very invasive.

I was surprised to see so much of it at the swap. I asked a lady who was clutching some where she was going to plant it & she happily replied "by my pond's edge". I asked if she had a rubber pond liner. "Yes, I do." I told her, it's your plant & your pond....but you'll rue the day you put arundo donax next to it and one day see your pond liner punctured by it's invasive roots"! She had NO CLUE as to what she had...just that the "man I got it from" told her it would get "really tall and look really impressive." Groan...

On a side note, I strongly believe we have a responsibility to properly identify plants and their growing habits to folks we trade with. I am always very hesitant to share invasive plants unless I've had an educational conversation with the person wanting it and I am quite sure they do indeed know WHAT they've got and how it should be properly handled/planted.

I'm glad you did some research on your own :-)

I was given some last year and put it in a very large container. I'm curious to see how tall it will get in that planting situation. I'll be very happy to keep it as a containerized specimen plant, though I'd sure love to be able to plant it in the ground...but I just have nowhere "safe" to plant it.

Claudia

Claudia, do you know if perhaps the variegated form is less agressive than the all-green variety? I ask because my mother's neighbor has the varietaged and it doesn't seem to have multiplied very rapidly. I'll have to ask her to be certain, but I highly doubt she's got it planted in a sunken pot---she's just not the sort to DO that, if you know what I mean...(*grin*)

Hi again msbatt:

I cannot answer your question--I've no experience with the all-green type nor do I know anyone growing it.

However, below are a few links with pics & info that might be of further interest/help to you on Arundo donax.

I can say that the humongously large stand of A. donax that I got my little clump from last year was in a somewhat circular shape, so I will wager this stuff may be a bit more of an rapidly **clumping** type of plant rather than a type that sends out aggressive runners way-the-heck-out from the main clump...like the "Golden Bamboo" (phyllostachys aurea) I've got in my yard that is as AGGRESSIVE as all get-out & can send runners out from the main stand 10ft-12ft.

But, all this being said...I cannot say why your neighbor's hasn't multiplied much. Maybe it's behaving in a polite manner for her :-)

Let's just say if it were me...I'd make sure I had plenty of open area around the stuff so that it wouldn't ultimately be spreading into an area where I couldn't root prune it.

Root photos:
http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Arundo/a1043tx.html

http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Arundo/a1044tx.html

Good overview of growing habits, etc:
http://www.iisgcp.org/EXOTICSP/giantreed.htm

Hope this was a teeny bit more of help for you.

Claudia

Msbatt,
I've had mine for atleast 7 years. Its in full shade and when it gets a little big for my taste, I dig it up or give it away since most people love it. It has not over run my flower bed in the least and I dont think my grandmother put anything around it either :) since she is the one that put it there.
Martha

Just to be safe I planted my piece in a 10 gal. nursery pot in the ground. Not that it would stop a truly agressive bamboo, but it might slow it down a bit. I also planted it in full sun. Was that a no-no?

No most people around here grow it in full sun. good luck :)
Martha

There's a large clump of variegated giant reed at the UT gardens. It's a LARGE clump, but it IS a clump -- not a marauding hoard. ;-)

IMveryHO, the secret is to NOT let it get too wet. At UT, it's in full sun in the regular perennial beds -- NOT in a moist or boggy situation. I second Claudia's general comments about invasive plants, but I don't think this one is going to be the end of the world. Site it carefully, and enjoy!

Hi Martha & amazindirt:
Glad to hear this plant isn't necessarily an invader from outer space, taking over the world! lol

The huge planting that I got my clump from was very impressive & as I said, seemed to be spreading out in a more "circular" type formation.

Thanks to you & Martha for info.

Claudia